Virgin Media O2 (VMO2) partnered with Accenture to target private 5G opportunities for UK enterprises, outlining plans to devise industry-specific solutions which will involve AI and compute technologies built on the latter’s edge platform.
In a joint statement the pair explained the project is designed to help local businesses leverage 5G capabilities, with the UK private network market forecast to hit £528 million by 2030.
Under the partnership, the companies are set to deliver “a broad set of applications for multiple industry segments”, naming use of AI computer vision for product quality control in factories and “queue management systems” to improve customer experience.
Accenture and VMO2 will initially focus on construction, transportation and logistics, manufacturing, utilities, warehousing and sports venues.
The new solutions will feature cybersecurity, data and AI and edge computing services built on Accenture’s Edge Orchestration Platform, a cloud-based asset management product. There is a plan for the companies to market these solutions outside the UK through VMO2 owner Liberty Global.
Jo Bertram, MD of business and wholesale at VMO2, claimed it will use Accenture’s “industry-specific knowledge and proven digital platform and solutions to help broaden our offering to businesses”, citing safe communications at construction sites and powering critical medical devices as examples.
The operator activated the UK’s first “5G-connected hospital” in 2022 and penned a sweet 5G factory deal with British Sugar.
Meanwhile, Accenture last year announced it will splurge $3 billion on AI to boost its enterprise efforts.
